Manu Ginobili to Miss 6-8 Weeks Following Hand Surgery

Ginobili is set to have surgery tomorrow to repair the broken bone in his shooting hand, and according to Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, Manu could be out of action for up to two months. From the Express-News: “Ginobili tweeted that the surgery will include a plate and screws being inserted on his ‘beloved left hand.’ Popovich said that Ginobili likely would be idled for six to eight weeks. ‘They have to put it back together again,’ Popovich said. ‘I don’t know what they are going to do, but he’s going to have surgery.’ Popovich said that Ginobili’s injury, which occurred in the second quarter of the Spurs’ loss at Minnesota Monday night, caused Gary Neal to be activated quicker than normal. ‘If Manu was healthy, Gary would have played a couple of games in Austin without a doubt,’ Popovich said. ‘With Manu’s injury since he has been cleared to go five-on-five, we figured we might just go ahead and throw him in the fire with that situation.’ Popovich said that Neal is ready to go and would play tonight against Golden State.”